The number ONE reason why you keep losing battles!

Position is EVERYTHING

Many players, especially in the bronze and silver leagues, are simply putting their monsters on the field wrong and it's creating a lot of free wins for their opponents. It seems so simple, but the ramifications are far-reaching and the depths of strategy are equally profound.

Of course, there are going to be games where you bring the wrong team to counter your opponent's strategy. There will be games where your opponent simply has better cards than you do, especially if you don't have max-level cards for your league. These games, however, are the outliers. Most games are decided by who better positions their units.

"But every game is different, with various rule sets and mana limits, possibly banned splinters, so how can I possibly always know the best spot to put my monsters?" Well, you can't, but there are a few tips and tricks to make the decision-making process a little easier and more foolproof.

1. Taunt NEVER goes in the middle

Read that again, aloud this time. I see this at least once a day, usually far more often, and it's an invitation for disaster. The most common error I see here is Mycelic Slipspawn in the second spot, directly behind Unicorn Mustang. Who can point out the problem with this arrangement? Hit the comments below!

Unfortunately, I didn't catch a screenshot of this egregious offense before I began working on this article, but I'm sure you've seen it plenty of times. So what's the matter with it, if everyone seems to be using it?

First, putting a taunt in the middle of the pack is ridiculous because if your opponent has any blast monsters (or Yodin), you're effectively giving them free damage by allowing the blast to go to both sides. I've even seen this particular team put forth in Explosive Weaponry ruleset matches, but not for very long!

Second, putting Slipstream behind Unicorn Mustang negates the best feature of the Mustang, namely the void ability. Any monster who is not directly in front will be forced to target Slipstream with their magic attacks, dealing full damage to him when Mustang would be taking half.

Finally, a large part of what makes the Earth splinter so powerful in the current meta is the pair of monsters with tank heal at level 1. Putting Unicorn in front of Slipstream allows them both to attack, but it puts Slipstream out of heal range and, since Mustang will usually only be hit by one or possibly two monsters (if the opponent is playing reach) one of those heals is likely to be wasted. So how should you play this scenario?

If you're dead set on playing the Slipstream and the Mustang together, at the very least put the Slipstream in the last position so you're not doubling any potential blast damage. Since Slipstream is going to draw all the magic attacks, however, a better option would be to use Mycelic Infantry as your main tank rather than Unicorn Mustang as the shield ability is likely to be more useful than void.

2. Always protect your rear

CYA doesn't mean goodbye, it's an essential part of Splinterlands strategy that only fades from relevance in one ruleset, Fog of War in which all monsters lose the sneak and snipe abilities. Aside from that, you're never going to want to leave important monsters unprotected on the back end. Sounds obvious, right? But you can go further (as always) by making sure your last position is filled out by an actual tank; this is where something like Mycelic Slipspawn shines because he effectively takes sneak out of the question. Any monster that has a defensive ability such as thorns, shield, or retaliate is also a great choice for the last spot especially if they have a ranged or magic attack that still allows them to contribute to the fight. It's also worth noting that nearly all sneak damage (including the Super Sneak ruleset) comes from melee attackers; there are a few monsters with ranged or magic sneak attacks but they are currently not playable in the starter decks and are seen far less often.

Another mistake I see often is putting Sand Worm in the back, which seems ok because he has a decent HP pool. However, if your opponent is also playing Sand Worm you will likely lose yours without having the chance to attack, and then you are losing 5 damage. Don't sleep on the value of a Furious Chicken on the backline! Take this simple advice a step further by figuring snipe and opportunity attacks into your positioning as well.

3. Opportunity knocks

How many times have you lost your Serpentine Spy to an opponent's Serpentine Spy- or vice versa? How many times has this single interaction decided the outcome of an entire match? Do you feel good losing to a 50-50 coin toss as to which one of the same monsters are going to go first? I hate it, to be sure. And of course, many things can make a difference here such as summoner abilities and card levels but if you just place any other monster with 1 hp in front of your Serpentine Spy you will immediately turn that 50-50 chance into 99% because the opponent's Spy will hit your chump first and then your Spy will dust theirs. Having a monster with opportunity is always good but knowing how to protect yourself from it is usually better.

4. How to 360-no-scope the sniper

Snipe: Targets enemy Monsters with Ranged, Magic, or no attack that are not in the first position

This is the most misunderstood ability among many players, because it's kind of poorly worded. It will target the first monster that has any non-melee attack, or no attack, except for the first position. So a creature like Oaken Behemoth, who has a magic attack and a melee attack, are viable targets for snipe (which is important because Oaken Behemoth also has reach, meaning he is usually played in the second position.) In the Target Practice ruleset, a monster like Rusty Android looks good but will only be hit by snipe if he is in the first position AND there are no other viable targets. Prismatic Energy in the second position is perfect because the reflect magic will activate any time he is struck by a magic attack, and they will all target it.

Sorry, I didn't have pictures to break up this wall of text, but I hope the information was good enough to keep your attention anyways.

link.ee/rickonthemountain feel free to reach out to me for whatever!